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User blog:Ratigan6688/My Opinions on the Dreamworks Animated Films: Part 2
Hey Guys. Here's part 2 on my opinions on the Dreamworks Animated films. Madagascar Naturally, I loved Madagascar when it came out. But looking back, I find it even better, considering what they did with this movie. It's animation is cartoony, but it has great humor and story that makes it very engaging. Probably the best thing about the story is that it's one that I have not seen before, or at least the portion where Alex is sucummbing to his wild side. It shows how a predator like Alex is willing to put his friendship before his appetite. But of course, the humor is the even better part of the movie. For instance, the wacky faces and movements are totally awesome like when Alex moves quickly or falls-things like that. Chris Rock does a great performance of Alex. His dialogue just cracks me up. Gloria and Melman are also pretty funny characters, especially when Melman goes all germ-phobic (trust me, I know that feeling). The penguins are also really funny. Everything they do is something that a group of spies or ninjas would do. The orders, the background music, the commanding orders of Skipper, the list goes on. King Julien is also a lot of fun. His accent and a bunch of his lines get really good laughs. I really love it when he sings "I Like To Move It Move It" in the credits. I still don't get tired of that song. To sum up, Madagascar is really engaging, very well done and very funny. I still enjoy it, and I am glad they made sequels to this great movie. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit We all remember Wallace and Gromit from three classic short films, but in 2005, Aardman put the inventive man and dog duo in their first full length motion picture in Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit. While I'm not a die hard fan of Wallace and Gromit, I still find the franchise charming. I did enjoy the shorts pretty well, especially the moon cheese one and I was impressed to see them in their first full length movie. Like most Dreamworks movies, I'd say the biggest highlight is the humor. For instance, that scene where Gromit has to use that fake female were-rabbit to attract the real one. Doing that female dance moved was funny. The funniest scene was when Gromit and that dog were fighting on the planes, and the mood of the film paused until they could find quarters, and then the intensity resumes once the planes move again. That was funny! I will admit though, I was kind of disappointed that the Were-Rabbit was not a separate creature. I won't say who it is if you haven't seen the movie yet, but still. And the villain, Lord Quartermine or whatever his name is, eh...not realy much to say about him. But for the most part, the movie is still loyal to its series. If it looks good to you (especially around Halloween), check it out and see what you think. Over the Hedge As Dreamworks movies go, this one is pretty good. Normally, I'm not really much of a woodland critter fan as I am with jungle cats, but it doesn't really interfere with my opinion on this movie too much. Although RJ isn't doing much of a good thing, I do find him somewhat of a decent character. I mean, come on. A lot of protagonists do foolish things like what he does, but it always works out somehow. Wanda Sykes as the skunk, I'm not too greatly fond of. She's one of those actresses where I can't get into her nor the character she plays. She's just too sassy and irritable. The porcupines are cute, and the possums are likable. My mom brought up that the daughter possom's actress Avril Lavegne is one of those celebrities Dreamworks uses that are famous for the moment, but fans lose interest a little later. Well, I kind of agree with that part, she does do a pretty good job as the daughter possum. The funniest though is Hammy the squirrel voiced by Steve Carrel. His constant speed and shouting lines are what win the film over, especially when he drinks the soda and everyone looks like they have stopped. There was also a scene that kind of redeemed my thoughts on that creept THX logo. That logo has always creeped me out. But when the porcupine kid sit on the remote by accident, and it almost disturbs Gladys, that made it funnier. The relationship between Verne and RJ I thought was kind of like Toy Story, particularly when the family ignored Verne and later on scolded him for losing the wagon-yeah. It was kind of a corny copy. Allison Janney as Gladys sharp when she sounded angry, was um...a little crazy (even crazier with an even worse role in Mr. Peabody and Sherman, but I'll get to that later), but I like Vincent the Bear better. His soft scary voice makes him sound cool. Overall, Over the Hedge isn't great but it is good entertainment. Comedic celebrity voices and funny scenes here and there certainly makes it worth a watch. Flushed Away I remember when Flushed Away was first coming out, my mother thought it was a disgusting idea because of the whole "flushed down the toilet" scenario. I naturally wanted to see it because I love rats. And for what I got it was pretty charming. It was intresting to see that Aardman was doing a CGI animated film as opposed to the usual stop-motion animation. I think it was because of what they had to do with the water. For starters, the sewer utopia using trash to make a rat version of London is creative. The story I admit is kind of a too small quest movie since there wasn't a big journey through the sewers like I saw with oh say, Shrek. However, the movie's strengths I think are the characters and some of their funny lines. For instance, the villains. The hench-rats line of "Danger is my middle name" and "I thought it was Leslie" line are crack-ups. The Toad himself is a pretty cool villain and his plot is just so diabolical! Flushing bathroom water to destroy the Rat City! That is just what I thought a crimelord like him would do. Also, the tadpoles constantly asking for a puppy cracked me up. Another funny moment was with the mime frog having to hold the cell phone for Toad to talk to Rita and Rodney, and the mime frog constantly going in the wrong direction got laughs. Also, the slugs providing silly voice moments was cute. So despite the initially gross idea of getting flushed down the toilet, I hope Flushed Away sounds interesting enough for you to check it out. Shrek The Third I know a lot of Shrek fans didn't like Shrek The Third, but honestly I found it pretty decent. When I heard of it coming out, all I really wanted was a decent story and some funny moments here and there, and that's pretty much what it did. I didn't find it a hilarious movie, but it was a nice movie. Pinocchio twisting the interrogation was confusing, yet funny like it should be. Also, kind of like what the 2nd Shrek did with Far Far Away with the modern stuff mixed in with medieval stuff, I liked what they did with the high school...visually that is. The high school students themselves were big jerks like you would probably expect, but the teachers weren't nice either. They chanted with the students for Shrek to eat Artie. Shouldn't they know better? Well anyway, Artie despite sounding like an awkward teenager captures a lot of the movie's heart. Shrek teaches him an important lesson that we should remember when it comes to bullies: Just because someone call you a mean name doesn't mean you are one. Merlin is a funny character (much better than the Disney version), especially with Eric Idle's voice. The princesses becoming fighters is a funny idea. It emphasizes that not all princesses are damsels in distress. I'd certainly expect that from a parody film series like Shrek. Seeing a lot of the fairy tale villains take a bigger role was pretty good too. Prince Charming reminds them of their poor roles in the fairy tales that they were in, but what they learn from Artie in the end was good. Oh yes, and then there's the ogre triplets. They are cute like all babies, and seeing Shrek and Fiona become parents was a good mix to this movie. So despite a few "eh" moments here and there, I don't find the 3rd Shrek that bad. It certainly has enough charms to keep it afloat...that is, unlike the fourth film but I'll get to that later. Bee Movie If someone asked me what my least favorite Dreamworks movie was, I'd probably say Bee Movie. I've only seen it once and I hardly remember that I even saw it. It's too corny, it's awkward, it's weak, it just feels like there was little to no effort put into this! For starters, it's not funny. Not the lines, not it's puns-nothing. Jerry Seinfield is not a comedian I find funny at all-not even worth a chuckle. Even as a stand-alone character Barry, I find him boring. The other characters-I don't remember. They are just so bland and uninteresting. Even some of the other moments just don't work. The dialogue is unbelievable weak, even when the humans find out that bees can talk. They are mostly just "a talking bee!" That's it. The climax is weak too. The plot with the flowers is rushed, and when it seems like the plane is in danger, it still feels like they are flying it just fine. Not really that much difference. The only thing that stands out is Chris Rock's voice as the mosquito. In-fact, I wanted more of him than I did with Barry. He was funnier and more interesting. So yeah, nothing much made me like Bee Movie. Personally, I'd skip it. Kung Fu Panda And now I come to the Dreamworks film I've wanted to review the most-Kung Fu Panda! Out of all the Dreamworks animated movies, Kung Fu Panda is my personal favorite! It's funny as usual, but the great thing is there is also drama and epicness blended with it! I loved pandas, which is what built me up toward this movie in the first movie, along with Chinese visuals and tigers (or Tigress in this film's case). I know little about martial arts, but seeing a panda perform them is just too dang awesome for me to skip! Po is lovable and funny when he goof around in his own cool way! I will admit, the Furious Five not liking him at first was a little uncomfortable, but it wasn't too mean-spirited and it didn't go on for too long. The Furious Five themselves are great characters. Crane for being awkward, Mantis poked at for being small, Viper for being a sweet snake, Monkey with Jackie Chan's voice, and Tigress for having an emotional part in the story. She seems distraught that her only chance of proven her worth was taken away, but by the end she learns that she doesn't need to be the Dragon Warrior to be great. And speaking of that, the message this movie set out is the kind of classic traditional message that I'm used to: "To be special you have to believe it." Tai Lung is also a really cool villain. He's the brawn villain of the series. Just all the build up how dangerous and powerful he is keeps my interest. He kinda reminds me of when Anakin Skywalker turned bad. The music composed by Hans Zimmer is great too. He knows just when to make the mood low or intense. I still listen to it a lot. Overall, Kung Fu Panda is one of my personal favorites. Not just my favorite Dreamworks film, but also my favorite computer animated film in general! I certainly plan on popping this wonderful movie in my DVD player more times in the future! Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Another great Dreamworks movie that debuted in 2008 was Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. In my opinion, it was even better than the first Madagascar. Not only was I excited to see these characters agin, but I was also excited to see a computer animated movie of Africa, with all the wilderness details and more. I will admit though, before I saw this movie, I was worried that the movie's conflict would involve their own species forbidding the Zoosters to be friends in Africa. Turned out-no! There was nothing like that in there, probably because Dreamworks didn't want to re-hash the whole "predator issue" from the first film. It was about Alex, Melman, and Gloria, connecting with their own kind and learing the ups and down. For instance, Alex is reunited with his parents but then he learns that lions do not dance which causes a big mess with his father's position as Alpha Lion. Marty learns that he's not as unique as he thought he was, and Melman gets jealous over Motto dating Gloria, the one he loves. There are a lot of good moments both with the story and it's humor. However, there are a couple problems. One is the fact that Makunga, despite having a cool villainous personality is kind of a carbon copy of Scar from The Lion King, and his goal was too similar. I just wish Makunga's had a plot that stood out a little more. But I liked him for being traditional to Africa. I also wish the penguins had more mission moments, but they are in it at all, just not as much as the first. Also, the move it move it version done by Will I Am I don't really like compared to the version from the first version. However, another funny aspect is the return of the Nana from the first film's Grand Central scene. Her fights with Alex get big laughs, and how she defeats Makunga is pretty silly. Overall Madagascar 2 is a great sequel and a stand alone movie. It's funny, it's got a good story for each of the characters, and it's a worthy entry in the Madagascar series. Find it on DVD and see the fun for yourself. Look out for part 3. Category:Inactive blogs